Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-11-13
NOVEMBER IS, 1887.
Eho secretary and the Commis.
siOner.


The situation of affairs between Mr..
Lamar the Secretary of the Interior,
and his subordinate, Mr.. Sparks, Com
missioner of the United States Land
Office, has reached the ultimate point.
The Secretary says he or the Commits
sioqer must leave the office. 1t is
unnecessary to waste a word in specu-
iatiAg as to what the result OF this ui-
mstum from Mr.. Lamar will be. There
will be at once new Commissioner.
Tho effect of this change is matter
which merits brief consideration.
Mr.. Sparks is by all confession, even
BY those who think him wrong, an
honest and thoroughly conscientious
man. But there his good qualities, so
far Is fitness for the office he has been
Sling. seem to. come to an end
and there is no more dangerous men
in the world than the conscientious
ono who allows his conscience to run
aw With his Judgment He is al
ways a narrow-minded man, a man
Of on, idea, q rider of hobbies, and
senerally Cranky" He is, too, a
stubborn man, one not to be reached
by advice, not subject to take counsel
from others. He is a law unto himself,
and is not content to stop at this, but
he tries to make himself law to all
the world besides. He is Purit IN
whose doxy is always orthodox, and
every other mans heterodox.
Such, in the main, seems to
be the spirit which animates
the Commissioner of the Fed
sral land office. He is SO con-
scientious that he is guided by the
~" - -, !
liebt of his own true inwardness to
such an extent that reason from out
lido is wasted on his mind. 1t is al
ways q casting Of pearls before swine
to o Ter counsel to such people, no
matt r from how exalted source it |
comes. He is SO straight in the back
that he leans backward. He keeps |
his eye on his one idea, and so long
- that is safely guarded, he cares
nothing for any other interest, right
Or wrong. Ever since MIR. Sparks
came into Office the air has been full
II com plants about him and his policy.
But ike a horse with the bit in his
mouth he has plunged straightahead.
In the present instance, when the
case was appealed to his superior offi-
Ger, it was out Of Mr.. Sparks hand.
When Mr.. Lamar rendered his decis-
ion, the Commissioner had but one
course to follow, that was to submit.
He was in nowise responsible to any
tribunal for that decision. But he
made the point of difference between
him and his superior matter of pub
lie Discussion in newspapers. He set
forth where Mr.. Lamar was wrong
and where Mr.. Sparks was
right. In Mr.. Sparks mind,
Mr.. Sparks is always right.
No Pontitf ever spoke er-cathedra
with half the infallible certainty Of
this Commissioner.
Judge Lamar has acquitted himself
rs most painstaking and conscien-
tious public servant. He has no bees
IN his bonnet. He is calm. judicial
and unbending. He believes in car
rying out the law exactly as he finds
it, and, wisely, does not trouble him
self with trying to fulfill the functions
of both houses of Congress in addi-
ton to those pertaining to the port
folio of the Interior. Where corpora
tons have allowed land grants to
lapse, and thus given him the right to
restore territory to the public domain,
he has done so, thus returning
to the people vast areas OF land given
under Republican rule to build ur
grinding monopolies. But where the
railroads have complied with the
laws. however unjust these laws may
be, Judge Lamar has had the good
sense to know how far his prerogative
goes, and he has obeyed the laws
That he may think the laws ubiquitous
cuts no figure in the case.
These important matters may be
trusted in the hands of the able S C.
retary of the Interior, and the country
will not suffer from the dismissal oil
Mr.. Sparks.